Food, Dresses, and Stress....

Wow, how can 2 weeks feel like 2 months? This will have to be quick, but the next 2 weeks will be so jam packed I wanted to jot down a few things.

1. November 20th we (The girls in my class and some boyfriends/friends) had a wonderful Thanksgiving potluck. Delicious food, great conversations, simply a wonderful evening. I even have some pictures to document the event!!

The turkey!

All 10 GC girls, class of 2010

eating a wonderful meal!

2. School stress... still lingering. It has certainly improved, but there always seems to be SOMETHING. I just can't wait for the semester to be over. And I'm going to curse Ohio for switching all quarter schools to semesters. I think semesters work great, for SOME people. And quarters work great for OTHERS. Both should be around to accommodate different learning styles! (sorry... little rant there).

3. Wedding planning... is officially in progress. I hope to get most of it done over winter break (yeah right... I should keep dreaming)... Dave and I fell in love with a reception site. There are many things about this place that I really like. We will probably check out a couple other places, but this one looks like it may be a perfect fit. Also, on Friday my mom and I went and I got my wedding dress!! THE dress. Crazy! It was a lot of fun, but shopping was nothing like I expected. There was no chance for my mom and I to just walk around and look at dresses by ourselves, we were "accompanied" the whole time... Fortunately, I had looked online and already could tell them a bunch of dresses I wanted to try on. I was happy with the 1st dress I tried on, but decided that I needed to try on others... I think the dress I got was #3. I just kind of knew it was what I wanted. That's all I can say! ;o) It looks like most of you will have to wait until May 2010 to see what it really looks like!! (Aren't I mean?) The tricky part is that I will most likely have to remain the size I am now. (No gaining weight!) Yikes. If I am not the same size and if they still have the dress in stock, I can exchange it. But the safest thing is to try and maintain this size. Oh--- and Dave and I are fairly certain the wedding will be May, 2010. (If everything works out, May 15, 2010)... but I will let you know for sure when things are booked.

4. Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. Dave and I went to Cincy and he got to meet Margaret McDonald (an old neighbor of ours who has returned to live in Australia). It was wonderful getting to see her again! We had lots of fun chatting and playing games. On Thanksgiving Day Kate, Greg, Colin, and Memere joined us. The food was wonderful, and the company was even better!!

5. The next 2 weeks are full of projects, papers, and finals... wish me luck. I may briefly blog to "delay" but other than that I will be busy until 12/12.

The Bad and the Ugly (What happened to the GOOD?)

I think it's time to go to bed. Today is quickly getting worse. After a number of annoyances let me think of a few that helped today progressively get worse.
1- called people for part of my GSR. 3/25 picked up. None were enrolled.
2- went to go do work at the other part of my GSR. I didn't have the equipment necessary to do my job.
3- Realized that I have classes on Monday of finals week (WHO DOES THAT??) Was really looking forward to having a single day to prepare for the monster of having 4 big exams.
4- Found out that my "group work" that was split up ended up not quite working out, as 1 group actually didn't do their part!
5- Realized that I don't know how I got into my head that my proposal was due the Friday after Thanksgiving... because EVERYWHERE says it's due the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. And now I'm really hoping I can switch presentation dates, because I really don't want to have to present the same day that is due. It's going to be pushing it as it is!

So yes, now I need to go to bed. Because quite frankly, not enough good happened today to account for the bad. Sure I did good on my EPI test, and I got some more compliments on my new winter coat...but really... what the heck?? I guess it's pay back for having a GREAT weekend with my friend Leah. Apparently relaxing isn't allowed.

Sorry about venting. I just really can't believe how bad the next 3 weeks are really going to be!

Big A

Believe it or not, I actually have a couple of blog posts that I think may be more interesting. A step away from my boring, busy life! (yes, I realize that's an oxymoron...)

Everyone knows your typical "type-A" personality. Highly driven, fast paced, controlling, and competitive. I personally think this classification can be too harsh, but in reality there are some people that will always have to fit each end of this "personality spectrum".

Today I began thinking about the competitiveness seen starting at the college level. I will address science-related experiences, but I assume this could apply outside of my areas of experience.

For many science professions, I feel that the "type-A" personality is selected for. People with type-B personalities are more likely to get the impression that they are not doing what is necessary and will change majors, career paths... etc. Unfortunately, I don't think that's quite fair. They may not be working at that same pace, but perhaps moving slower allows a person to truly think about what they are doing and why. Wouldn't this allow for more creative solutions and approaches to science? That is one problem I see with this selection for type-A.

Problem #2 is related to a function of type-A personalities. These people tend to take on the "leadership role" when working in groups, or together in any way. So when you have greatly reduced the number of type-B people, you have a bunch of leaders working together. I first learned about the function of a group comprised of all leaders working with these 3 wonderful ladies in 2007. I don't think I spoke much about that group... one of the best experiences of my life. It taught me how I really function in a group. I digress...

When you have a group of type-A leaders a new dynamic arises. People can argue for lots of things, but someone has to give in. Someone must let go and realize that for anything to get done, you must let things that aren't critical go. These people are probably what I like to think of as "type a". I think I can classify myself as a type a personality, so here are some features I have recently been noticing. *note, I have NO outside basis for this type and could be a lone person that feels this way

-I tend to take charge in a group, but will take a step back if there is another stronger-willed leader.
-I still try to do lots of the group work, and check what other people do. Then I fight for my argument when I realize that I am actually correct.
-I typically don't win this fight... and it drives me crazy!
-In other situations, I find when I am sitting around with a bunch of type A's that I will attempt to join in conversation... only to find my voice glossed over. By the time I get a chance to jump in we have moved on to 3 other topics.

This last point makes me curious. Am I actually more of a type B, or has this selection for type A made me seem like a type B? Let me clarify. I used to fall in the middle, I was a blend of both type A and type B personalities. (and would argue that is still likely true). Yet, with fewer type B personalities it makes the difference between type A and type a seem much more different.

I just think it's a shame that we are so driven to be type A, and then fail to get done everything that we would like to. To succeed I shouldn't have to become a type A. Yet it sometimes feels like being a type a personality "won't cut-it".

Those are my thoughts on this issue for now. It's something I'll continue to think about. Let me know what you think, and if this applies to your situations. I'd love to know.

Next post: Either "Rules on creating good power point presentations", or... "study changes". If you list a preference, and it's consistent I will do whichever you would like to hear first. If you don't care... I suppose you won't be reading my blog!